In today's manufacturing environment, monitoring a production process and collecting statistical information on the status of the production process is considered essential in achieving world class quality standards.
Usually, in order to register a defect occurring in a workpiece, an operator fills out a tally sheet where a brief written identification of each occurred defect should be included. At the end of a shift, a quality engineer enters data taken from all tally sheets into a computer system for computation and graphing in order to analyze the entered data and to undertake needed corrective actions.
Unfortunately, many manufacturing companies may find little benefit from data thus collected. Sometimes, the vague nature of the data collected does not provide causal clues, and the difficulty in collecting the data slows down the production process itself and leads to both errors in the data content and decreases productivity effectiveness.
Contemporary data collectors like, for example, Genesis models QA3000/QA8300, are intended, among many other functions, for structuring a data-base on the basis of user-defined identifiers of the defect occurred, such as model, serial number, location of the defect, severity, disposition and so on. The Genesis collectors accept inspection input from keyboard, bar code wand, cases scanner, CCD wand and/or voice recognition circuits. However, these collectors are expensive, and sometimes
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a system for entering and analysis of data relating to a defect occurring in a workpiece includes a data entry means for displaying a pictorial image of the workpiece and for providing a plurality of first and second indicia, respectively. A defect is identified by its position in the workpiece and by a type-of-error. Each of the first indicia identifies the position of the defect in the workpiece, and each of the second indicia identifies the type-of-error in the workpiece. In the preferred embodiment, the data entry means includes a front screen, a sketch board and a keyboard disposed behind the sketch board and providing a controlling means and first and second keys corresponding to first and second indicia.
Once data relating to the defect are entered by activating one of the first indicia in combination with one of the second indicia, the controlling means provides delivering of said data (in real-time and/or periodically) to a processing means, including a computer, for collecting, processing, and outputting said data to the computer display or printer. Data are also displayed on a display, which can be implemented as a stand-alone display or as a display integral with the data entry means.
The present invention also finds utility as a system for entry and analysis data relating to any attribute of any object.
A data entry means displays a pictorial image of the object, and provides a plurality of first indicia thereon in juxtaposition to the pictorial image of the object (or located directly on it), each first indicia for identifying a position of the attribute of the object. The data entry means also provides at least one group of second indicia, each second indicia for identifying a required characteristic of the attribute of the object. The data identifying the attribute are entered in the system when one of the first indicia in combination with at least one of the second indicia are activated.
The present invention also may find application as an apparatus for entering and analysis of one data associated with an object.